Culinary implement



Dec. 15, 1942. N, Q GENER LES 2,304,991

CULINARY IMPLEMENT Filed m 8, 1941 INVENTOR I ATTORNEYS WITNESS Patented Dec. 15, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CULINARY IMPLEMENT Narciso C. Generales, Beverly Hills, Calif.

Application May 8, 1941, Serial No. 392,574

4 Claims.

This invention relates to culinary implements, and its general object is to provide an implement of the wrench type which is primarily designed for removing screw type closure caps from bottles and jars, in that it includes handled pivotally associated slidably mounted jaws to set up a gripping engagement with a cap and for adjustment with respect to each other to fit caps of various sizes.

A further object is to provide a wrench including handled adjustable jaws, with the handle of one jaw being likewise adjustable, so that it can be positioned with respect to the other handle to be spaced therefrom an ample distance to bring the jaws in positive gripping engagement with a cap, regardless of the position in which the jaws are adjusted to fit the cap.

Another object is to provide a wrench of the characterset forth, that has the free end portions of the handles shaped for use in removing crown caps from bottles and the like, and the.

adjustable handle which is also provided with a corkscrew and a blade with the latter associated therewith for use in opening tin cans, is detachable, so as to facilitate its use in opening the said cans and removing corks and crown caps.

A further object is to provide a wrench that is simple in construction, inexpensive to manu facture, and extremely efficient in operation, use and service.

This invention also consists in certain other features of construction and in the combination and arrangement of the several parts, to be hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawing and specifically pointed out in the appended claims.

In describing the invention in detail, reference will be had to the accompanying drawing wherein like characters denote like or corresponding parts throughout the several views, and in which:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of my wrench applied to a large size screw cap such as used on Mason jars and the like, and illustrates two positions of the adjustable handle in full and dotted lines.

Figure 2 is a view illustrating the wrench applied to a screw type bottle cap.

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the pivoted ends of the jaws, adjusted as shown in Figure 1, and with the pivot bolt of the jaws in section.

Figured is a view similar to Figure 3 with the pivot bolt partially removed from the keeper recess to illustrate the manner of adjusting the direction of the arrows.

Referring to the drawing in detail, it will be noted that the jaws I and 2 are relatively thin and wide, aswell' as are of arcuate formation and the inner or confronting edges thereof are formed with teeth 3 for the major portion of their length, in order for the, jaws to set up a biting engagement with caps to prevent any possibility of slippage, as will be apparent.

In View of the fact that the jaws are pivotally connected to each other in overlapped association, the jaw I includes a relatively short section 4 hinged as at 4' to the-main section thereof. By that construction, it will be seen that the handles and jaws can be disposed in better relationship to facilitate the use of the wrench.

Arranged adjacent the outer end ofthe hinged section is an oblong opening having fittingly mounted therein the short oblong portion 5 of the shank of a headed pivot bolt 6, to hold the latter against turning, and the shank includes a long oblong portion I providing a shoulder 8 at the juncture of the said portions. A nut 9 is threaded on the threaded portion of the shank, to hold the bolt fixed to the hinged section 4, with the shoulder bearing against the inner face thereof, as best shown in Figure 6.

The jaw 2 is pivotally and slidably mounted on the oblong portion I for adjustment with respect to the jaw I to fit caps of various diameters, as indicated in Figures 1 and 2, and for that purpose the jaw 2' is provided with an arcuate slot Ill that slidably receives the portion I. The slot extends from adjacent the outer end of the jaw 2 for a portion of its length and is arranged adjacent to the outer edge thereof to follow its curvature, as best shown in Figure 1. The jaw 2 is also provided with rounded keeper recesses II arranged at equi-distantly spaced intervals along the inner edge of the slot and communicating therewith for receiving the oblong portion 1 to hold the jaw 2 in its respective adjusted positions.

While the recesses are of a diameter to allow free pivotal movement of the jaws toward and away from each other when the portion 1 is mounted in any one of the recesses, it will be noted that the latter are restricted where they register with the slots and the bolt is fixed to the section 4 in a manner for disposing the portion 1 lengthwise of the restricted spaces to prevent passage of the portion 1 from the recesses into the slot, when the jaws are positioned for use as will be apparent upon inspection of Figure 3. However, it will be obvious from Figure that when it is desired to adjust the jaws, the jaw 2 is swung away from the jaw l to a position for disposing the end of the portion 1 toward the restricted space to allow the portion 1 to be moved into the slot, as shown in Figure 5, with the result it will be seen that the jaws can be readily adjusted and are held in adjusted positions against casual displacement.

The jaw 2 is shown as gradually increasing in width from its transverse center to its shank l2, and the jaw l is likewise provided with a shank I 3' which has pivoted thereto, a handle l4 provided with an abutment lug l5 engageable with the shank I3 to limit movement of the handle I4 toward the handle I6 of the jaw 2. It will be noted that both of the handles have their outer ends recessed as at I! and. these recesses are shaped to provide means for removing crown caps from bottles. The pivot of the handle l4 facilitates the use thereof, when removing a bottle cap.

The handle i6 is adjustable with respect to the shank l2, so that it can be spaced an ample distance from the handle I4 to bring the jaws in gripping engagement with a cap, regardless of the position in which the jaws are adjusted to fit the cap. For that purpose, the shank l2 has a slot I8 disposed substantially along its length, with branch slots 19 and 20 extending from the opposite sides of the slot l8 adjacent one end thereof at an angle of approximately forty-five degrees with respect to the slot I8, as best shown in Figure 8.' The handle [6 has a headed bolt 2! secured thereto and the bolt 2'! is substantially similar to the bolt 6, in that the shank of the bolt 2| also includes a short oblong portion 22 and along oblong portion 23 providing a shoulder at its juncture with the portion 22. Threaded on the shank of the bolt 2| is a nut 24 for fixing the small oblong portion 22 within an oblong hole in the handle it to prevent turning of the' nut relative to the handle, and the long oblong portion 23 is slidable in either of the slots l8, H3 or 20 to hold the handle in its adjusted positions, as will be apparent upon inspection of Figures 1 and 8f A rounded opening 25 is provided at the inner end of the slot I8, and the head of the bolt 2! is of a diameter to pass through the opening 25 to allow removal of the handle l6 from its shank, as the handle l6 has a corkscrew 26 pivotally secured thereto and fixed to the outer end of the handle is a blade 21 that includes an inner beveled edge paralleling the handle to cooperate therewith for use in opening tin cans. By having the handle l6 removable from its shank, it will be obvious that such materially facilitates the use thereof when opening cans or from removing corks and crown caps. However, the important feature of my wrench is the fact that it can be used for removing screw caps from bottles and jars regardless of the size of the latter caps or how tight they may be secured, and of course the wrench can be used for tightening the caps to provide a sealed or leakproof connection between the latter and their containers.

It is thought from the foregoing description that the advantages and novel features of the invention will be readily apparent.

It is to be understood that changes may be made in the construction and in the combination and arrangement of the several parts, provided vthat such changes fall within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

l. A bottle and jar cap wrench comprising a pair of arcuate companion jaws, pivot means fixed to one of said jaws, the other jaw having a slot therein slidably receiving the pivot means for adjustment of the jaws to fit caps of various diameters, means included in the pivot means and the slotted jaw for holding the jaws in adjusted positions, handles for the jaws, one oi said handles being adjusted to vary the space between the handles, and means for holding the adjustable handle in adjusted positions.

2. A bottle and jar cap wrench comprising a pair of arcuate companion jaws, pivot means fixed to one of said jaws, the other jaw having a slot therein slidably receiving the pivot means for adjustment of the jaws to fit caps of various diameters, means included in'the pivot means and the slotted jaw for holding the jaws in adjusted positions, handles for the jaws, one of said handles being adjusted to vary the space between the handles, means for holding the adjustable handle in adjusted positions, the other handle being pivotally associated with its jaw, and abut ment means formed on the latter handle to limit its movement with respect to the adjustable handle.

3. A bottle and jar cap wrench comprising a pair of arcuate companion jaws pivotally and slidably connected together for adjustment to fit caps of various diameters, shanks formed on said jaws, one of said shanks having a slot therein and branch slots directed at an angle upon opposite sides of the first slot, a handle connected to the other shank, a handle for the slotted shank, and a bolt fixed to the latter handle and having an oblong portion slidably mounted in the slots to vary the position of the latter handle with respect to the first handle.

4. A bottle and jar cap wrench comprising a pair of arcuate companion jaws pivetally and slidably connected together for adjustment to fit caps of various diameters, shanks formed on said jaws, one of said shanks having a slot therein and branch slots directed at an angle upon opposite sides of the first slot, a handle connected to the other shank, a handle for the slotted shank, a bolt fixed to the latter handle and having an oblong portion slidably mounted in the slots to vary the position of the latter handle with respect to the first handle, the slotted shank having an opening therein communi ating with the first slot, and a head for the bolt to hold the shank within the slots and being of a size for passage through the opening to allow removal of the latter handle from its shank.

NARCISO CARPIO GENERALES. 

